


Magic Works

by koalathebear



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-28 15:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic Works

  


"Oh!"

"Sorry - was this Clearly Curtained Off Alcove private?" The wry question was accompanied by a rueful and faintly apologetic smile. He knew he was intruding. The huge ice sculpture of the somewhat Wagnerian-looking witch Persephone the Pompous glowered down at him, her icy peacock feathers protruding from her bonnet, her ample bosom heaving with frosty disapproval at his actions.

"No, it's fine," Hermione told him, clearly wondering why he was there as she stared at him curiously.

He looked even more good-looking than usual and his dress robes gave him a rather dashing air which she found a little intimidating.

"Having a good time?" he asked despite the fact that the answer was clearly in the negative. People who were having a good time didn't hide out behind curtains with only Persephone the Pompous for company.

  


Together they looked out at the ballroom which resembled a mystical and enchanted fairyland. The Great Hall had been transformed into an icy, snowy winterscape much like the Muggle fairytales of Hermione's childhood. It was hard to believe that the sweeping and majestic columns with their ornate carvings were made of ice. The child in her had been tempted to touch her fingertip to one of the columns and then her tongue - just to see if it would stick to the ice.

Giant snow flakes floated around the room, caressing the skin and faces of the revellers and the lighting in the Great Hall was a deep and intense white, pure and cool. Colours seemed more brilliant and deep than normal. The blue of Hermione's grown appeared a deep blue against the whiteness of the floor and Cedric's eyes seemed an even more brilliant and luminous grey than usual.

  


"Not bad," she said briefly with insincerity in her voice, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

"I have to say that I feel a bit naff dressed up like this," he said indicating his dress robes with a confiding air. " _You_ \- look nice though".

"Thanks .... but you're not the only one who feels a bit naff dressed up like this," she told him frankly.

He smiled.

The music restarted.

  
_And dance your final dance  
This is your final chance  
To hold the one you love  
You know you've waited long enough_   


He cleared his throat nervously. "So. D'you like the Weird Sisters?" he asked her in a conversational manner.

"Yes they're good and this song is rather nicer than the earlier ones they were singing," she replied, still peeking out from behind the curtain at the dancers gliding around the floor. The dancing lessons had paid off and Neville in particular looked serenely happy as he twirled around the floor with Ginny in his arms.

"I saw you kept having a row with Weasley tonight," Cedric said abruptly. "He jealous of you and Krum?" He had assumed that that was the reason given that she was hiding here behind the curtain instead of out on the dance floor, in Krum's arms as if she belonged there.

"No," Hermione denied flatly. "He just kept accusing me of fraternising with the enemy". Her voice was irritated, outraged and more than a little wounded. "You'd think he'd worry more about keeping his own dance partner happy," she said referring to the fact that Padma Parvati's pretty face clearly displayed her dissatisfaction with the developments of the evening.

"I suspect that's just jealousy talking on his part, Granger ..."

"What? You must mad... if he was jealous, he would have just asked me to the dance himself instead of coming up with that feeble excuse for ..." Her voice trailed off at the expression in Cedric's grey eyes. He ran a slender hand through his thick, tumbled dark hair nervously.

  
_So, believe that magic works  
Don't be afraid  
Of bein' hurt  
Don't let this magic die  
The answer's there  
Oh, just look in her eyes_   


He cleared his throat. "It's not that easy sometimes, Granger ..." She glanced at him, her dark eyes puzzled, wondering at the look of hesitation in his eyes which were very intent.

"My turn for questions," she said pointedly. "If you're having such a good time - why are _you_ here in _my_ private curtained alcove?" she asked him curiously.

He didn't reply at first, merely looked at her silently.

  
_And make  
Your final move  
Don't be scared  
She wants you, too_   


"Why are you in _here_ and why is Cho out _there_ dancing with that boy from Durmstrang?" Hermione asked, continuing when he didn't answer.

"She's a bit annoyed with me," he told her briefly.

"Why annoyed? The two of you make a wonderful couple - like something out of a fairytale," she confided wistfully. "Cho looks so beautiful tonight ...more so than usual ..."

  


Cedric exhaled slowly and then shrugged as if in resignation. "She was annoyed," he told Hermione who looked at him inquiringly. "She said I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off Hermione Granger ...."

Hermione froze and found herself blushing scarlet.

"And why would she think and say something so ridiculous as that?"

  
_It's hard  
You must be brave  
Don't let this moment slip away_   


  


"Probably because I couldn't keep my eyes off Hermione Granger," he said in a low voice.

  
_Believe that magic works  
Don't be afraid  
Afraid of bein' hurt_   


Hermione stared at him in shock, her eyes wide and vulnerable. Her head was tilted to the side, her expression very wary and disbelieving.

"Me?" she demanded, a frown on her face.

"Yes, you," he said with a crooked grin. "I wasn't going to say anything .... but I saw you come in here .... and now this bloody song ...... it's like it's egging me on to do and say something stupid ...."

"You're blaming a _song_?" she demanded incredulously, aware that she was turning everything into a question.

"I'm blaming the song, yeah. The snow, the ice .... the way you look tonight ...." He glanced up at Persephone the Pompous. "Even _she_ looks like she's encouraging me," he lied, ignoring the frosty look of disdain on the sculpture's haughty face.

"You _like_ the way I look tonight?" Damn. Another question.

"I always like the way you look, Granger," he said with a grin,"But tonight I realise to my terror ... and my bloody delight that you're all grown up now .... " His fingers reached out to touch her hair, her mouth, the soft fabric on her shoulders.

  


Hermione's lips parted and Cedric reached out and touched her cheek again. He seemed to like touching her, nothing intrusive, just gentle little gestures, accompanied by a wondering expression in his eyes.

"It's all right, I'm not going to do anything .... bad. I'm still with Cho ...sort of ..."

"Yes you are," Hermione said nodding, her senses absolutely singing as his fingertips smoothed across her skin. She shivered in response to his touch. His eyes were very dark. He really was a very attractive boy, she thought incoherently, wishing he'd do more than just touch her cheek, wondering what his hands would feel like...elsewhere....

  
_No, don't let this magic die  
The answer's there  
Yeah, just look in her eyes_   


"I _had_ to say something though," he whispered in a low and intense voice. "I know who you are Hermione Granger. D'you think I don't know the genius behind Harry Potter? And .. I've seen the little looks you sneak at me when you walk past me in the halls .... I know you see me, too ..." there was a faintly defiant note in his voice, as if he was aware of his own arrogance and presumption in noticing.

Hermione looked embarrassed.

"Everyone knows who you are, Cedric," she told him.

"Don't be embarrassed," he whispered. "I only know that you're looking at me because - well I'm looking at you, too," he told her.

"Well that makes a lot of sense," she said finally when the silence grew. He smiled slowly.

"I know where you always sit in the library. Krum's not the only one who knows how to haunt the library. I'm just better at being discreet about it than he is," he said with a puckish grin.

  
_And don't believe that magic can die  
No, no, no, this magic can't die_   


"Cedric ..." she whispered.

"I hope your feelings for Weasley aren't too serious. Am I in with any chance at all?" His face was intent and then as if he felt embarrassed at being so serious, he grinned. "Y'know, if things were different I'd ask you to dance."

"Here? All by ourselves?" she demanded.

"Yeah but that would be beyond hokey ..."

"It would indeed - but kind of romantic, you've got to admit?" she said with a smile as he drew her to her feet.

"But we're neither of us hokey, are we, Hermione Granger?" he said, his arms going around her

"Not a bit," she told him and when his mouth came down hesitantly on hers, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. She trembled. His lips were cool and tantalising.

"I tell you. I blame the ice and most of all this bloody song," he whispered thickly against her mouth. "I don't have the right to ask anything of you right now. It's not fair of me, not fair to you, not fair to Cho, but I can't help seeing what I see in those eyes of yours, Granger".

"The possibility of something more?" she whispered against his lips and groaned as his mouth covered hers again and she tasted him more deeply this time, savoured the heat of his unspoken want and felt the hardness of his body pulling hers closer against his until it was impossible to tell that they weren't one.

"I knew you felt something was possible for us, too," he said harshly, slanting his mouth over hers, and she didn't stop him when his hand moved across her body, burning through the thin fabric of her blue gown. His heartbeat was as fast as hers, seemingly louder and more insistent but as he kissed her, she forgot whose heartbeat was whose, whose breath was whose and their sighs and groans blended into one. Her hands frantically pulled him closer just as his arms tightened to pull her closer. Her body was moulded against his hard length and they could feel everything that spoke of what they craved.

"When this is over .. when all this is over .... I'm going to ask you if you're willing to ... explore the possibilities with me," he told her resolutely, kissing her forehead, smoothing her hair from her face. Her pupils were dilated, her face slightly dazed as she looked up into his eyes.

The expression in his eyes warmed her and she grinned wickedly.

"I suppose there could be certain advantages to going out with a seventh year," she said with mock thoughtfulness. "What you could tell me about advanced spells and NEWTs preparation ..."

Cedric shook his head in disbelief.

"Always the appallingly practical and competitive little swot," he remarked with an amused grin. "But I'm under no illusions. I suspect that with your theoretical knowledge, you could already wipe the floor with me, Granger," he told her.

"Theory is all very well, Cedric but I'm very much in favour of practical. Hands on. Experience," she whispered, pulling him back against her for another kiss.

"Sod off," Cedric muttered at the sculpture of Persephone the Pompous who snorted, clearly disapproving of where Cedric was putting _his_ hands.

Hermione giggled and their final kiss was tinged with anticipation, laughter and more than just a little wickedness.

  
_So dance, your final dance.  
'Cause this is, your final chance._   


  


  
**The End**   



End file.
